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Breastfed with some pumped bottles...enough?

My LO is 6 months old and I am working FT. I feed her right before I leave in the morning at 7:30 and as soon as I get home at 5:00. I pump 3x at work. When she is taking the bottles of pumped milk, she gets 4 oz every 3-4.5 hours but when she's nursing at night and on the weekends, she eats right around every 2 hours. She goes to bed around 9 and wakes about every 3-4 hours overnight. Her weight is fine and she has plenty of wet and dirty diapers. We've been experimenting with solids (bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots) but it's just for fun and she doesn't eat enough to even count in her total caloric intake. My question is, is it ok that she doesn't eat very much while I'm at work? My husband said he thought it seemed like she goes too long sometimes but I think she just prefers nursing to bottles. Also, sometimes I am only able to pump 2 xs while I'm at work. At this point, would that be a detriment to my supply given how much she's nursing when I'm home? Every weekend is a nursing marathon with feedings every 2 hours. I guess I just need a little reassurance. Thanks in advance!

Re: Breastfed with some pumped bottles...enough?

This is exactly what my babies do. Combined, they eat about 15 ounces during the nine hours that I am gone. Every once in a while, they'll eat more. Sometimes they eat even less. Then they eat constantly when I'm home. They are gaining weight and have perfect diaper output just like yours, so I don't worry.

Re: Breastfed with some pumped bottles...enough?

Hi mama, rule of thumb is 1 - 1.5 ounces per hour apart. You are exactly hitting that. There are babies who completely refuse expressed breastmilk and then nurse all night long (reverse cycling). Much better not to overfeed baby while you're apart - because that makes it hard for you to keep up with the pumping, and decreases the amount they will nurse with you at home. I guess if your husband thinks she is going too long between bottles, you could experiment with smaller, more frequent bottles - for example, 2-3 oz every 2.5-3 hours. That would probably more closely mimic what baby is doing at the breast. And you're right that the solids are for fun at this point. Baby is gaining weight well so that tells you she is getting enough milk. And nursing often evenings, nights, mornings, weekends is exactly what you want to do. In general, you do want to try to keep your pumping sessions. If you occasionally miss one, it's probably okay, but if you're missing sessions frequently you may want to try to add in a session in the car or at home to make up for the missed session. It sounds like you are doing great! Keep up the good work!